


Change

by Ghost0



Series: The Boys Are Back [7]
Category: DCU (Comics), The Boys (TV 2019)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:09:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27383971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: The confrontation between The Boys and Darkseid comes to a close
Series: The Boys Are Back [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971640
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Change

When Bella opened her eyes, she no longer had the journal and she was no longer in Frederick Vought’s old office. Gray stone was everywhere, stairs going in all sorts of impossible directions. She turned her body around, trying to figure out her location and post. Looking up, she saw the man in the golden helmet sitting cross legged and floating in the air. “Uh, excuse me? Who are you and why are we in an Escher painting?”

“Why did you try and alter the timeline of your Earth?” His voice commanded attention, an aura of authority surrounded his body. Bella felt guilty after he asked her that question.

“I…look, that Darkseid guy or whoever took Homelander and Stormfront and used them as his soldiers. I just thought that if she had a weakness that could be exploited, it would be in Vought’s journal all the way back when.”

He stared back at her. Eventually, he waved a hand in the air and summoned a green orb. Floating it over to Bella, she took it in her hand. “That contains a gas that, if close enough, will temporarily alter the genetic make-up of their bodies. Long enough to take them out and remove them from the equation.” Bella looked it over in her hand. “I only had time to make one. Plans have to be set in motion to end the fight on a larger scale.”

She looked up at him and gave him a nod. “So, how do I work this thing? Do I just squeeze it hard enough when I’m close?”

“Squeeze and alter the vibration of the orb at the same time. Change its state from solid into gas. Now, I must send you back to your proper time.” A portal opened and Bella started to walk forward. But she turned around to ask one question.

“What about-?”

“Since you didn’t make any significant changes in the past, I was able to reset the timeline back to what it was before. Now go, shall arrive when ready.” 

With that, Bella turned back around and ran right through the portal. Closing behind her, Doctor Fate manifested an image of the city on Apokolips. The same one where Darkseid’s palace resided. But his focus was not on Darkseid himself. He looked around the landscape, trying to find it on the surface of the planet. Then there it was. Raven had followed through and found a location to plant the blue flower where no one would notice. But with the roots now in the surface, they could now execute their endgame.

******

Barda sent a blast towards Stormfront. Putting her hands up and crossing them, she took the blast with relative ease. But just as she put them down, a blur of red came and landed several hard punches in quick succession and got her knocked off her feet for a moment. Getting on her knee, she growled up at the superhero veteran, who had his arms crossed as he came to a standstill. “Sorry ma’am, but I’m afraid that your time has come and gone.”

“The way I see it, I’m just getting warmed up.” Using her lightning, she shot at a building. Debris fell and started to plummet towards civilians still trying to get away from the battlefield. Jay started to run, but green lightning passed him and managed to grab them and get them out of harm’s way just in time. She gently lowered a young girl down onto the ground, her mom grabbing her and giving a silent thanks to the Hispanic girl. Turning around, she came face to face with Jay.

“I know, I was an idiot.”

“Yes. But I understand the thinking behind it.” Jay nodded. “Been tempted a couple times myself.”

“I think one of your guys stopped me from doing too much damage. Gold helmet, not much of an explainer.”

Jay gave a chuckle. “Sounds like Doctor Fate all right.” The small grin disappeared as he turned around and looked at Barda and Stormfront resume their fighting. “At least tell me that you found a way to help give us an edge here.” 

Grabbing Jay’s arm, she held up the green orb that Fate had given her. “If I can get close enough, I can turn this into gas that will weaken her enough to capture her. But I have to get pretty close to make sure that she actually takes it all in.”

“I can’t allow that. Give it to me and I can take care of it.”

Bella pulled back her hand. “Jay, you already got hurt pretty bad. I know we heal fast, but she will definitely kill you. I’m doing it.” Green lightning crackled around her and before her new mentor could object, she took off full steam ahead. That was when everything changed. Everything around her was moving incredibly slow. The soldiers around them were moving, but it was incredibly slow. Almost seemed like they were statues and any movement was a trick of the eye. Even the wind around her seemed to be at a standstill. She looked over at the almost non existant movement of Stormfront. She was ever so slowly bringing her hand up. She could tell by the small sparks of light around her gloved hand that she was preparing to deliver her own strike to Barda. Running towards her, she punched the disgraced Super right across her face. In real time, Stormfront’s body turned sharply and suddenly. Then Bella punched her in the gut, making Stormfront’s body jerk again and lean forward. 

Bella felt amazing. But unfortunately, she let the joy of the movement distract her and make her slow down. Just enough for Stormfront to recognize a solid shape and reach out. Her hand around Bella’s throat, she glared at the young girl as she picked her up into the air. “You DARE to touch me?! Look at how filthy and pathetic you are! Don’t worry, I will make sure your death is as slow as possible. A reminder of how weak you are.” Bella used one hand to try and grab the hand at her throat. She struggled, the pressure on her throat and the suddenness of how quick it happened making her not think completely straight at first. But she remembered what to do and forced herself to bring her other hand up quickly. Putting it right next to Stormfront’s face, she felt the particles within the orb and used every bit of focus she could spare to reach out and alter it as quickly as she could. Then with a final squeeze, it changed into a cloud of green gas.

Stormfront quickly breathed it in, causing her eyes to widen in surprise and start coughing. Dropping Bella onto the ground, she felt someone run and grab her, getting her away. When Jay and Bella turned around to look at Stormfront, soldiers had circled around her and opened fire. The gas had worked, the evidence being that the bullets were actually drawing blood. The Supe cried out in surprise more than pain. Bullets pierced through her once impenetrable body. Several rounds forced themselves inside and through her until finally, she fell onto the ground.

“Wait…I thought we weren’t-?”

“It’s not my preference.” Jay admitted. “If it was up to me, I would make sure she paid for her crimes.” Bard joined the two of them, looking at the body that has hit the ground. 

“She was under the Anti-Life equation. She was never going to stop attacking and trying to serve Darkseid’s will. Believe me, she is better off dead.”

“I know. Still don’t like it very much.” As soon as Jay said that, J’onn landed on the ground right by the rest of them. Unfortunately, someone else landed on the ground as well. But near the soldiers, and lasers immediately shot out to cut all of them in half, blood splattering all over the ground around him. Homelander, the Omega symbol burned onto his forehead, looked at the group of superheroes. 

“So, you all think you can take me on? I’m stronger than I ever was, thanks to Darkseid’s grace! You don’t stand a chance.”

“Fuck you!” Jay’s eyes widened as he turned to see Bella. She glared at the once beloved Supe. “You’re an asshole then and you’re an asshole now. And we are going to make sure you remember that!” The other three smiled at her enthusiasm, turning their attention back on Homelander and getting into battle ready positions.

Homelander stared at all of them. Then he laughed. It was creepy the way he did it, almost as if he had been told a joke that he didn’t expect to be funny, only to be taken off guard by it. But then the laugh turned into a dark glare. His eyes burned with hatred and loathing. “All right then.” He started to step forward, moving from the paved street to the blood soaked grass. Ready to tear them all apart.

But as soon as he stepped on the grass, vines quickly sprouted out and wrapped around his ankle. Looking down, he used his lasers to cut the vines. But even more sprouted out to lock down on both of his feet. Homelander tried to break free by taking flight, but larger and thicker vines reached up from the ground and tightly wrapped themselves around his wrists. More came out and wrapped themselves around Homelander’s legs and arms, moving around his entire body. Growing angry, he grunted and yelled out in frustration. He struggled hard, trying to use his lasers to burn off as much as he can. As he yelled out in anger, the vines took their chance and forced themselves into his mouth.

Bella stepped back in confused shock, the other superheroes clearly not expecting this. But they made no movement to try and move forward and assist. Homelander gagged, drool coming out of his mouth as more vines entered his body. A pile of plants and vegetation formed behind his body, growing bigger and taller. All the vines seemed to be coming from this one big pile. Once it got to a certain size, it seemed to start to take on a more familiar, human like sharp. The vines circled around each other and became something like arms, thick and long. The Supe continued to gag and struggle as much as he could. Tears of pain began to roll down his face the longer he was at the mercy of the plants. The arms were fully formed, the vines that had pushed themselves inside took on the vague appearance of monstrously long fingers. The rest of the pile took shape, creating legs and a torso. And then finally, several openings near the top of the pile opened up. Two of them became eyes, dark red and fierce looking. The final one became a mouth. Opening up, the creature growled as he force more vines inside the body of Homelander. But then finally, he roared as he pulled, ripping the once invincible Homelander apart. 

Body part and organs fell down onto the ground. Bella kneeled over and vomited on the ground. She put a hand to her mouth, Jay reaching over to rub her back and make sure she was all right. Barda and J’onn kept their eyes focused, watching as Swamp Thing dropped the two halves of Homelander onto the ground. Jay looked up at him. “You didn’t have to do that – at least not in front of all of us.”

“His mind was gone.” The creature had a certain sophisticated way of speaking. A bit slow, but full of thought. “He would be able to break out of any prison. But…I suppose you have a point. Apologies for how brutal that ended up being.” He looked over at the girl he had made uneasy. Looking up, she did recognize genuine apology in his red eyes. A certain amount of softness in his green face.

“I’m afraid that we can’t argue about this right now.” J’onn spoke up. As soon as he did a golden glow shined near them and the form of Doctor Fate appeared.

“You are correct. The piece is in place. I have reached out to Scott and told him to get back here as quickly as possible. We will need him to open another Boom Tube.”

Before Bella could ask why, a Tube opened and Scott came with the boys and Ryan. They were bruised up a bit with some blood. But otherwise seemed to be in one piece. Barda walked over to Scott. After a silent moment, the two hugged each other, giving a quick kiss. 

“Fuck! Those women know how to throw a good punch.” Billy rubbed his jaw. Hughie looked around him, trying to see who is here.

“Wait, where is Annie? And Maeve and everyone else?” Hughie asked. 

“They are on Apokolips. But we need to move fast in order to get them back here.” All the boys turned around, confused on who this floating golden helmet guy was. Scott turned around to meet Fate. Without even saying anything, Scott pulled up his Mother Box and opened another Boom Tube. Fate turned and gave Swamp Thing a simple nod. Moving towards the tube, the boys got out of the way and stared at the plant creature before taking a jump through the portal with Scott in tow. Then the portal closed, with the others waiting to see if their plan will actually work.

******

Maeve struggled against the growing power of Darkseid’s foot, not sure how much longer she can push back. Luckily, the doors to the throne room swung wide open. A dark blast hit Darkseid as hard as possible. It caused him to lose focus, allowing Maeve to run as quickly as she could out from his foot. A dark shadow wrapped itself around Desaad’s throat, lifting him up in the air. Raven’s hands glowed with a dark light, sending more shadows to try and hit Darkseid again. His eyes glowed red and more Omega Beams shot out and tried to hit her. Releasing Desaad, she teleported out of the room briefly, the Omega Beams vanishing since they can no longer find their target. 

Lamplighter pushed himself up onto his feet, getting help from Kimiko who managed to regain consciousness. Maeve helped Starlight get out from the hole in the wall. Desaad stood up and pointed his weapon to the heroes. “Look at you…the battle has only begun and you are already exhausted. Your foolish belief that Darkseid can be so easily defeated by the likes of you will be your downfall!”

Raven teleported back inside the room. But this time, she didn’t come along. Mister Miracle jumped out and kicked Desaad right across the face. “Shut up you sadistic old man!” Landing on his feet, he turned around and waved to Darkseid. “Long time no see. How’s Kalibak doing?”

“Scott Free. Do you believe that you and your allies can defeat me without the assistance of more powerful foes like the Kryptonian?” He glared down at the group before him. Generally unimpressed with what they have been able to do so far. But as he looked down, he heard something. He couldn’t quite tell exactly what it was. He turned his attention away from the group to look out over his city.

By the time Maeve and her group had reached the throne room, Raven had told them what their real plan really was. There was no real way to kill Darkseid. At least, not in any way that would stick. So, before Raven and J’onn even came over, Doctor Fate had discussed a way to force him into submission. When Raven left the group to go down to the surface, she had to find a patch of dirt wide enough to plant a flower. It was completely blue, with thorn on the stem and even shined a bit. The flower contained magical properties that any well versed sorcerer could use to make potions or elixirs. But if a magical being could transfer his consciousness into the flower, manipulate it’s magical properties to grow and become something larger and deadlier, it would be far more useful. 

As Darkseid looked out onto his city, he could see that idea become reality. Blue colored vines and foliage spread out across the city, crushing buildings and attacking the people below. Parademons tried to fight, but they got crushed and ripped apart. The blue plants ravaged the city of Apokolips, only growing larger and spreading out even further. 

Maeve stepped forward, walking past Scott who even tried to stop her from getting too close. But she kept moving until she was mere feet away from him. “Not feeling so invincible anymore, huh? Bet you never thought weak heroes like us could be responsible for such damage. Looks like we got you in a corner.”

“You arrogant bitch!” Desaad pushed his hands against the ground, lifting his head up to stare at Maeve who didn’t even turn around to face him. “No one can destroy Darkseid! He is inevitable! Darkseid is!” Scott landed another punch, letting Maeve continue talking to the ruler of Apokolips.

“Oh I can tell that Darkseid is many things.” Queen Maeve mused as she put her hands on her hips, looking up at the back of his head. “But how can you see fit to rule all of creation if you can’t even protect your own planet? I don’t think that’s going to put fear and obedience in all the people you rule over. In fact, I think that might just give them hope to try and fight back for themselves.”

Without warning, Darkseid wrap a hand around Maeve and lifted her up. He squeezed tight, Maeve struggling and squirming in an effort to not be crushed. Most of the nearby heroes started to move towards them, but Scott put up his hand and looked on. From his perspective, this could go either way. Darkseid angrily stared at the woman he held in his hand, who eventually directed her eyes back at him. Defiant and confident, she was prepared for anything despite him having the upper hand. Several long, tense moments passed as they waited for something to happen. Finally, he tossed Maeve away from him. She landed on the ground, Scott and Lamplighter helped her get back on her feet.

“Call back your plant creature and leave at once. The next time I come for you, I will make sure you suffer a long and grueling death.” Raven summoned the shadows to wrap them all up and disappear. He turned to look out over the city. A Boom Tube opened up, something was gathered from one of the vines and the tube closed. As it did, the blue plant life and vines started to fall down to the ground, beginning to rot and crumble away. He turned around and started to walk out of the throne room. “Get up Desaad. We have work to do.” He left the room and walked down the hallway. He pondered on this latest confrontation and obstacle, thinking over everything he had witnesses. Searching for anything he could use to help him make more progress on forming the Anti-Life Equation.

******

Once reunited on Earth, the Parademons that were still alive retreated back into the Boom Tubes and left for Apokolips. The visiting heroes gathered together and prepared themselves to head back home. First, Doctor Fate assisted in helping Etrigan and Butcher to split apart. As that happened, Jay Garrick and Bella had one final talk.

“I feel like I have so much left to tell you.” Jay crossed his arms and smiled. “How do you feel after all of this? The invasion, the getting up close and personal, just having powers in general?”

“Not going to lie…it is really fucking scary.” She looked down as she responded. “I have no idea why this happened to me and I don’t know what to do with myself. This changes so much, my mind is literally going at the speed of light, but I feel so helpless and lost.” Silence passed for a few moments. Jay took in what the young girl, understanding the overwhelming sensations of everything. 

“One day, one person.” Bella looked up, confused at what Jay said. “Don’t think too far ahead. Just focus on the day right in front of you. Do the regular things you always do. Be with your mom, do your homework. But if someone is in trouble and you can help, by all means do it. Save one person for every day you feel you can help. At least to start. Hopefully you will build up the confidence to do more. But until then…one day, one person.”

Bella nodded. Jay started to turn around to rejoin his friends. “And depending on what you can do with your speed, try and see if you can come over some time. Joan and I will be happy to see you and treat you to a hot home cooked meal.” Bella smiled as she watched Jay meet up with all the other heroes. Scott and Barda used their Mother Box to open a Boom Tube and left her world for their own.

As Hughie tried to figure out where he should go to next, he ran into Grace Mallory. “So. You and your Supes managed to actually survive the shit show.”

“Uh, yea. We did actually.” He nodded, trying to look unfazed and unmoving. “I think we have a good handle on what we are doing. But you probably still think we are a bunch of idiots.”

“Well intentioned ones at least. More than what I can say back when Vought ran the show.” She looked over at Team Alpha. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you and your team. So will a bunch of other people. It doesn’t matter if the public returns to loving superheroes blindly. The moment either of you make a wrong move-“

“Our asses are screwed. Figured that out.” She turned to look at the young man. Then she walked past him. Hughie watched her go for a moment before turning back to rejoin his team.

Turned out Grace Mallory was partially right. In the week following Darkseid’s invasion, the media and public recognized the cooperation between military forces and superheroes. Both the team that went off world to take on the leader, and the other heroes summoned to help with the ground forces on Earth. While it wasn’t blind love like it was before, Starlight was being asked in public for a few selfies and autographs. The various governments of the world seemed to be a little more relaxed and open with each other. At least, when it comes to sharing information vital for worldwide defense and cooperation towards peace. Becca, Ryan, and Butcher returned to their lives but still remained in contact with Hughie and the DSPI. Just in case Ryan ever decided to want to become a hero himself. Frenchie and MM returned to what was more or less their lives while keeping in touch. Bella, well the same couldn’t really be said. News of a green blur in her hometown started to pop up. The DSPI have turned a blind eye for now, but will most definitely recruit her when she becomes of legal age.

Heroes that originally refused to be government controlled still refused. Which means there is still plenty of things for Team Alpha to handle, in addition to the usual criminals and terrorists. As the first week following the invasion came to a close, Hughie and Starlight walked together. Inside DSPI headquarters, they ran into Maeve in the hallway to the meeting room. Hughie waved his hand. “Morning Maeve. How is everything?”

Maeve turned fully around, arms crossed. She looked down at the ground for a moment as she thought about her response. Once they were close enough, she gave an answer. “Better. I don’t know if I mentioned this a while ago, but…things with Elena have been pretty tough.”

“Really?” Annie, despite pretty much knowing this from before the invasion, feigned surprise. “I couldn’t tell.” Hughie also feigned ignorance.

Maeve smirked at the two of them. “Based on your lack of a convincing surprised look, I’m assuming you already knew.”

“To be fair, you kind of talk loudly on your phone.” Annie confessed. “But you also thought you were alone and I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“I’m just going off of what she tells me.” Hughie said. Annie half playfully back slapped his chest. Maeve shook her head put a hand up to stop the bickering.

“It’s fine. Turns out it is a lot tougher for me to actually change. It at first just simply felt like I was changing from Vought ownership to the government’s. Just waiting for the same back alley shit to happen all over again. Elena got pretty frustrated with me and my lack of personal growth.” She exhaled slowly. “Speaking of personal growth, what’s happening to Lamplighter?”

“He actually turned himself in.” Hughie pulled out his phone to check up on the article. “Confessed to crimes he did back when he was on The Seven and is serving time in prison.” 

Annie nodded, looking over to Maeve. “So, are you and Elena good now?”

“Working on it.” She smiled. Then she motioned with her head to the conference room. “I know Director Lee is probably impatiently waiting for the rest of us. I think Kimiko is already there.” The three of them entered the conference room. Kimiko smiled and nodded to the rest of them as they joined her at the large table. Director Lee gave them their first post-invasion mission, their first chance to show the world that things are truly changing for the better.


End file.
